Book Nerds Across America

Book Summary
When seventeen-year-old Nedra Brysstain leaves her home in the rural, northern territories of Lunar Island to attend the prestigious Yugen Academy, she has only one goal in mind: learn the trade of medicinal alchemy. A scholarship student matriculating with the children of Lunar Island's wealthiest and most powerful families, Nedra doesn't quite fit in with the other kids at Yugen, who all look down on her. 

All, except for Greggori "Grey" Astor. Grey is immediately taken by the brilliant and stubborn Nedra, who he notices is especially invested in her studies. And that's for a good reason: a deadly plague has been sweeping through the North, and it's making its way toward the cities. With her family's life--and the lives of all of Lunar Island's citizens--on the line, Nedra is determined to find a cure for the plague. 

Grey and Nedra continue to grow closer, but as the sickness spreads and the body count rises, Nedra becomes desperate to find a cure. Soon, she finds herself diving into alchemy's most dangerous corners--and when she turns to the most forbidden practice of all, necromancy, even Grey might not be able to pull her from the darkness.

Flo's Review
Sometimes I like going into books blind. Meaning, I don't read the summary or anything. I just hear the book is good and so I start reading it. 

This is how I started to read Give the Dark My Love. I was really intrigued at first. I rememberer telling someone that there were many different parts to the story and that I knew they would come together in the end somehow, but I didn't know how. I was fully enthralled and engaged.

Then, the book...got dark. I mean, I should have expected this, right?! It's called GIVE THE DARK MY LOVE. But I guess I just wasn't prepared for how dark it got? In a weird flip of the usual script, I actually liked the first half of the book better than the second. 

A few minor details also threw me off: the POVs switch between Nedra and Gray, but just as the story needs them to -- not in an "every other chapter" format. It seemed jarring, almost, to be reading chapters upon chapters of Nedra and then go to Gray for like one scene, and then back to Nedra. Some of Gray's chapters didn't really seem necessary...it was almost like maybe someone thought, "We haven't heard from Gray in awhile...lets stick a Gray chapter here, just because." Also, one aspect of how Gray reacted to something toward the end seemed unrealistic to me.

I can absolutely say that the book delivered on what it promised through the summary, title, and look. Nedra's descent into darkness is believable, gradual, and really well done. I just maybe wish I'd known this was the direction the book was taking before I jumped in. I'd have been better prepared and handled it better, I think.

Give the Dark My Love is the first in a duology. The second book, Bid My Soul Farewell, is out. Has anyone read it? Wanna give me something thoughts on it?

Book Summary
With shades of The Hunger Games, Ender’s Game, and Game of Thrones, debut author Pierce Brown’s genre-defying epic Red Rising hit the ground running and wasted no time becoming a sensation.

Golden Son continues the stunning saga of Darrow, a rebel forged by tragedy, battling to lead his oppressed people to freedom from the overlords of a brutal elitist future built on lies. Now fully embedded among the Gold ruling class, Darrow continues his work to bring down Society from within.

A life-or-death tale of vengeance with an unforgettable hero at its heart,Golden Son guarantees Pierce Brown’s continuing status as one of fiction’s most exciting new voices. 

Flo's Review
Wow. What an interesting journey with this book. I literally had quite a roller coaster experience reading it. While I loved the concept of Red Rising, the first book in the trilogy, it took me awhile to get through it. I set it aside for several months, and then only picked it back up when I got Golden Son. 

The beginning of the book held my interest, but then toward the end of Part I, it was losing me again. I once again put a Pierce Brown book down and went on to other things. But I was determined to push through, so I picked it back up and read on. Then two words at the end of Part I had me excited to get to Part II. I was back to being invested in the story for awhile, but then it once again started to lose me. It went to the side again, but once again I came back. By the end of Part III and into Part IV, I was flying. And then there's the end. But we'll get to that in minute.

What I liked most about this book is the themes of trust and redemption that run through it. Darrow, though born a Red, is a natural leader. It is in his blood. But he is a leader because he makes friends, not followers. And his friends will follow him willingly and die for him. Time and time again Darrow opts to trust his friends and give them the benefit of the doubt. And the majority of the time this works. He realizes that the Golds will break because they are rigid and power hungry and always looking out for #1 above all. And the Reds can rise because they believe in brotherhood and community. I jotted down the phrase "high virtue, low color." Darrow's problems come when he goes out on a limb and trusts too much, hoping that all his friends can be human beyond just being Gold. Darrow is also bold in his strategy and that is why is so successful as a leader. He is smart -- he does his homework. He is often able to anticipate traps and what others who seek to harm him may be thinking. He uses that to come into a situation with the upper hand. 

You may be wondering why I had such trouble getting through this book. Through my experiences with sci fi, I can say that I just don't think I'm a sci fi fan. There are exceptions, of course: the Across the Universe trilogy by Beth Revis and These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner are two that come to mind immediately. But with this book, for example, there was a lot going on. Different types of people, different planets...I was often lost in all the detail. Secondly, I appreciate a good battle scene...but not a long one. I'm the same way with movies. (Don't get me started on the final Hobbit movie!) So many scenes in this book are fight scenes. And while I can appreciate that they are well done and that the characters are kicking @$$, I tend to just skim over them after awhile.

And now we can talk about the end. I won't spoil it, but I will say this. Up until then, based on my roller coaster of a journey with this book, I was looking at a 2 or 3 star rating. The ending brought it up to 4. I almost gave it 5 anyway, but I couldn't bring myself to rate it so highly based on my experience. But I almost did. The ending overshadowed everything for me. It was the kind of ending a booknerd lives for -- it's waaay past my bedtime, but I can't bloodydamn put the book down! Then, once I've finished it, I immediately had to seek out a friend to freak out with. The ending made the book for me.

Morning Star is the third and final book in the trilogy and it's not supposed to come out until 2016. How am I supposed to wait?!?!?

So, I have been noticing a bad rut that I've gotten myself into. As you all know, a lot of great books come in 3s these days. Trilogies are the way to go, and I love them -- I do. But what I've noticed lately is that I will read the first book and most often love it. I'll read the second book and I'll either love it or I'll think it got the Middle Book Syndrome. (I can expand on this point, if you'd like to know more of my thoughts here -- just ask :) Then I'll have to wait the year for the final book to come out. And by that point, I've already been wowed by a shiny new trilogy. And while I may have absolutely loved the first two books, for some reason, I never make it to reading the third.

So, with all of YOU as my witness, my 2013 Book Goal is to conquer the Challenge of 3. Below are a list of  trilogies in which I have read the first two books, but not the third. Honestly, this list is kind of embarrassing. I know for a fact that I'm going to get called out for not having read some of these yet. But I will endure that, because I need the motivation to make time to get them read! So, without further adieu, here are my books on the Challenge of 3:

Boundless by Cynthia Hand
Requiem by Lauren Oliver
Reached by Ally Condie
Shades of Earth by Beth Revis
Shine by Jeri Smith-Ready
The Goddess Inheritance by Aimee Carter
Sever by Lauren DeStefano

So, my vow is to have all of these trilogy conclusions read by the end of the year. I'll be hashtagging it over on our Twitter #Challengeof3. Do you have any trilogy conclusions that you haven't read yet? Let me know in the comments if you're up for the challenge and/or tweet us @booknerdsblog with the hashtag #Challengeof3.

Godspeed was once fueled by lies. Now it is ruled by chaos. It’s been three months. In that time, Amy has learned to hide who she is. Elder is trying to be the leader he’s always wanted to be. But as the ship gets more and more out of control, only one thing is certain: They have to get off the ship. (from Goodreads)